I like except trading Spitz. Let him play a year and show he's over the injury. They seem to want to use Evan D-S instead though. If we're going to cut Donald Lee I think we have to keep Crabtree. Quarless and Havner can't block and you need a backup blocking TE. Shields, meh, he's been disappointing, he needs to start getting special teams tackles while he learns how to catch the football in practice. Barbre, Giacomini, failed projects, dump them asap. Barbre has been almost exclusively a backup LT which makes him 3rd string so I have to think he's on his way out. Zombo is getting a lot of praise. I doubt we cut him with the depth we have at his position.

On what grounds? Neither guy really fits the mold of a 3-4 DE nor has either shown anything thus far. I'd rather keep an extra LB or DB over these 2 guys right now.

Quote:

Originally Posted by jackalope

I'd rather keep Quinn Johnson than Korey Hall. Kuhn is a lock.

Quinn really hasn't shown much though. I like his thumper style but unless he starts to shine more often I think he's gone. Hall is a much better special teamer and thats what alot of these final roster spots are going to come down too IMO.

On what grounds? Neither guy really fits the mold of a 3-4 DE nor has either shown anything thus far. I'd rather keep an extra LB or DB over these 2 guys right now.

They drafted Wynn last year and Wilson this year exactly in the mold of a 3-4 DE.
I know they've not lit the world on fire right away, but I don't think they erred in drafting either guy and I like both guy's skills and effort, especially when you compare it to Justin Harrell who got pushed around like a child in Seattle the other night.

This from our good friend Ron Demovsky at the GBPG.

Quote:

August 24th, 2010, 5:46 pm

There are no awards given out in training camp, but if there was one for most improved, it might go to rookie offensive lineman Marshall Newhouse.

The fifth-round pick from TCU looked lost early in camp. His struggles were evident in the one-on-one pass blocking drills.

Three and a half weeks later, Newhouse looks like an old pro, especially when he’s playing his more natural left tackle spot. Newhouse won both reps today in the one-on-one drill against defensive end Ronald Talley and has put himself very much into the mix for a roster spot perhaps ahead of veterans like Breno Giacomini and Allen Barbre. Early in camp, Newhouse looked like practice squad material, at best.

“I think he’s more comfortable outside,” Packers offensive coordinator Joe Philbin said. “Inside was a good idea maybe, but I’m not sure that’s a great fit naturally for him. I think he’s making progress. I don’t think there’s any doubt about that.”

They drafted Wynn last year and Wilson this year exactly in the mold of a 3-4 DE.
I know they've not lit the world on fire right away, but I don't think they erred in drafting either guy and I like both guy's skills and effort, especially when you compare it to Justin Harrell who got pushed around like a child in Seattle the other night.

This from our good friend Ron Demovsky at the GBPG.

Harrell will never be a starter in the league due to his back, if anything he is a package type of linemen we mix with others and put every now and than. Plus he must have been told to not put too much effort into the game because of his back.

I like except trading Spitz. Let him play a year and show he's over the injury. They seem to want to use Evan D-S instead though. If we're going to cut Donald Lee I think we have to keep Crabtree. Quarless and Havner can't block and you need a backup blocking TE. Shields, meh, he's been disappointing, he needs to start getting special teams tackles while he learns how to catch the football in practice. Barbre, Giacomini, failed projects, dump them asap. Barbre has been almost exclusively a backup LT which makes him 3rd string so I have to think he's on his way out. Zombo is getting a lot of praise. I doubt we cut him with the depth we have at his position.

This I disagree with. Shields has been horrible returning kicks, but that shouldn't be held against him. He's looked pretty good at corner, quite a bit of potential for a guy who would be our 6th. I'm glad to hear that he's working more with the coverage units. I expect him to be a good gunner.

After playing 3 years of wide receiver I thought he would be able to catch punts. With 4.3 speed I thought he would stand out on special teams coverage. I'm not too excited about his corner skills, especially this season.

They drafted Wynn last year and Wilson this year exactly in the mold of a 3-4 DE.
I know they've not lit the world on fire right away, but I don't think they erred in drafting either guy and I like both guy's skills and effort, especially when you compare it to Justin Harrell who got pushed around like a child in Seattle the other night.

Wynn is fine for a 3-4 DE. I've actually really liked what I've seen from him last year and this preseason. I think he's almost a lock to make the team. He probably wouldn't hold up as an every down player on the line, but he can be a quality rotational guy.

I really haven't seen enough of Wilson to form an opinion on him yet. I've watched him for maybe two plays.

Quote:

Originally Posted by umphrey

After playing 3 years of wide receiver I thought he would be able to catch punts. With 4.3 speed I thought he would stand out on special teams coverage. I'm not too excited about his corner skills, especially this season.

Well catching punts is a lot different than catching passes. I think I pretty much agree with how you feel about Shields though.

How does everyone feel about the packers versatility of there players???
-Havner playing some linebacker, chiller being able to play inside and outside, kuhn playing fullback and 2back, blackmon knowing safety and corner, finely could even play some wideout with his skills, pickett and raji on the dline. i feel like this team is so gifted compared to other teams in this way.

How does everyone feel about the packers versatility of there players???
-Havner playing some linebacker, chiller being able to play inside and outside, kuhn playing fullback and 2back, blackmon knowing safety and corner, finely could even play some wideout with his skills, pickett and raji on the dline. i feel like this team is so gifted compared to other teams in this way.

yeah, it's a strange year.
-the winner of the 5th WR spot may be based on who can tackle better (special teams).
-the winner of the punting battle may be based on who can hold for field goals better.
-Sam Shield, a CB, was signed for his special teams potential, and now may make the team based on his play at, of all things, CB.
-LB is just a clusterf*&% in general.
-I think I saw Will Blackmon playing centerfield for the Brewers.
-Spencer Havner is actually 2 seperate people that just share a jersey.

Is anyone else a little worried about D-Line depth minus Jolly? I'm confident in Pickett-Raji-Jenkins, but there really isn't anything behind them besides Neal. They're really gonna need these guys to eat up blockers consistently to get any kind of pressure. If anyone of those 3 go down, we could run into some trouble.

Is anyone else a little worried about D-Line depth minus Jolly? I'm confident in Pickett-Raji-Jenkins, but there really isn't anything behind them besides Neal. They're really gonna need these guys to eat up blockers consistently to get any kind of pressure. If anyone of those 3 go down, we could run into some trouble.

I think there's reason to worry because as you mentioned we have four options, counting Neal, that the team can feel comfortable throwing out there and Neal is still a question mark given his rookie status. (And don't anyone come back with stuff about Wynn or Harrell because neither player has proven much, if any, worth on the football field) Look at the last two seasons this team has experienced a great deal of success, 2007-08 and 2009-10, we had quality depth along the defensive line and were able to absorb any troubles with injuries that came along the way. But following the 2007-08 season we lost Corey Williams and now we are without Johnny Jolly; both players had a knack for disrupting in the opponents' backfield and making plays. It's tough to expect to replace players of that caliber with young, unproven players. As a result we put more pressure on the linebackers to make plays or hold their own in coverage and we all know the shortfalls of our linebackers in that deparatment. And it trickles down to the secondary too because you can have the best players in the world in your secondary but a lack of pressure will cause them to cover long and be more prone to letting up a catch. It sounds simple and that's because it is and the effectiveness of this defense, much like any other, hinges on the defensive line and we're relying on Cullen Jenkins to be his solid self, Raji to slid inside and be at least as good as Pickett was for us in the middle, and Pickett slides out to end and gets the task of replacing Johnny Jolly. We are then left with little depth and more reliance on these guys and this unit to be as good as it was last year.

Why can't BJ Raji study the heII out of film of that guy?
Raji has more ability, size, strength than Randle did, but Randle's heart & intensity made him a Favre nemesis and a Hall of Famer.

If Raji can match 60% of the intensity that Randle had, we'd have ourselves a force in the middle that would command doubles and triples on every passing down. THAT would open things up for the LBers and Jenkins/Neal at DE.

Last season, easily Jolly's finest in a four-year career, the Packers relied more on him than any other defensive lineman. He led the unit in snaps with 835, an average of 49.1 over 17 games. He was second in pressures with 12, and first in both batted passes (11) and turnover-producing plays (four).

And remember one of those turnovers was his athletic, amazing goalline int of Cutler late in the opening week close win over the Bears. Without that play, we might have lost that game thanks to Al Barbre.

They drafted them because they're looking for someone who can generate a pass rush at DE in a base 3-4.

You should call Ted and let him no he forgot to measure/weigh them.

On a sidenote, anyone watching this CBS game San Diego at New Orleans.... did you catch Dan Dierdorf just talking about the Super Bowl in Dallas?
That fat bastard said that if it's anyone other than New Orleans, Minnesota, or Dallas then it will be a huge upset. He said those 3 are clearly above all others. And he mentioned Atlanta and Arizona.

Hello? Dallas is in another league than we are even though we almost shut them out last year? Really?

Anyone know Dierdorf's Twitter name?

Also, I'm tired of seeing articles where Revis, Aso, and Bailey are mentioned but no Woodson.

****. We're going to hear so much crap of people trying to compare Favre-Rodgers with McNabb-Kolb since we open against the Eagles.

If that bothers Kolb even a tiny bit, good. Anything that might help us, great.
I just saw that Eagles DE Trent Cole was carted off with an ankle last night... MRI scheduled. If he misses just one game, week one, that won't bother me too much. Or Rodgers.